Dallas County district attorney candidates disagree on taking helm of prosecutions

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has never
personally prosecuted a felony case from beginning to end. And the
first-term Democrat is OK with that.

But his GOP challenger in the Nov. 2 election, defense attorney
Danny Clancy, says it's ridiculous that the top prosecutor in the
county hasn't handled felony cases. Clancy said that if voters
elect him, he would prosecute cases from the top spot.

While the candidates squabble over whether district attorneys
should personally prosecute cases, experts agree that although it
happens and can help a campaign, it isn't necessarily an effective
way to run a large district attorney's office.

University of Texas at Arlington criminology professor Sara
Phillips said typically only district attorneys in smaller Texas
counties personally prosecute cases. She said that district
attorneys in larger counties typically serve as "the political
figurehead" and work on budget issues and office policies.

"It's the individual who sets the tone and the enforcement of
those policies among the assistant district attorneys," said
Phillips, who worked in the Dallas County district attorney's
office until resigning to become a full-time criminal justice
professor.

A district attorney who prosecutes cases will need to shift more
responsibility to the first assistant district attorney.

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Clancy has a different view. He said that prosecutors under
Watkins "are doing a very difficult job every day and they look up
and see that their boss has never been asked to do what they do
every day ... I'm going to personally handle the toughest cases
that come across my desk."

Clancy, a former prosecutor and judge, declined to say whether
that meant he would work on some or all death cases. But he said it
could mean any type of felony, adding, "I'm not opposed to going
downstairs and trying a DWI from time to time."

Watkins, a defense attorney before becoming district attorney in
2007, said he's better off trusting his prosecutors to handle cases
while he focuses on the big picture and administrative issues.

Watkins, who applied to the Dallas County district attorney's
office as a young attorney but was never hired, said having a
district attorney who tries cases lessens the power and scope of
the office.

"Don't bring us down to Mayberry and Andy Taylor," Watkins said,
referring to television's small-town sheriff on The Andy Griffith
Show that aired in the 1960s. "Let's treat this like what it is -
the second largest DA's office in the state."

Clancy said he could manage the administrative side while
actively prosecuting.

"It's a balance, and the district attorney is equal parts
prosecutor and administrator," Clancy said. "I've done that as a
judge. I'm running a courtroom and attending to my docket at the
same time."

Big counties

Elected district attorneys in larger counties like Travis and
Collin don't usually prosecute while in office.

However, Watkins' predecessor Bill Hill, a Republican, tried at
least three cases while in office. One of those included the case
of a prison escapee who, along with six others, killed Irving
police Officer Aubrey Hawkins.

Longtime Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle tried
cases early in his tenure, which lasted four decades, but the
current district attorney does not.

"I find the managerial aspects take up the vast majority of my
time," said Collin County District Attorney John Roach, adding that
he concentrates on creating programs and reorganizing to make his
office more efficient.

"If I were in a long trial or a trial that lasted a week, I'd
have to have somebody putting out fires."

Preparing for trial would also be consuming for an elected
district attorney, said Roach, a Republican.

"District attorneys would probably try the biggest cases and the
ones he's pretty certain he could win," Roach said.

Watkins has appeared with his prosecutors to successfully send
Robert Sparks to death row for killing his wife, Chare Agnew, and
two stepsons. Sparks also raped his teenage stepdaughters.

Watkins took a backseat role and questioned the girls during the
trial.

Clancy calls Watkins' role a "guest appearance," saying most of
the work was done by the lead prosecutor, Andy Beach.

Cal Jillson, a Southern Methodist University political science
professor who closely follows Dallas County politics and elections,
said Clancy might not have an easy time managing the district
attorney's office and spending time in a courtroom.

"Mr. Clancy is likely to find that the DA's office is large,
complicated and requires full-time administration," Jillson said.
"Still, in a campaign setting, promising personally to confront the
worst of the worst has its appeal. Certainly that is what Henry
Wade would have done."

Wade, the conservative Democrat who prosecuted Jack Ruby and who
is the "Wade" in the landmark abortion case Roe vs. Wade, was
re-elected as district attorney in Dallas County nine times.

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